I've been away from this board for a little while because i've actually been enjoying my tv for the last 2 years. I'm getting back into the groove of tinkering and I wanted to see what people are doing. I've read that adding fans and rubbing the screen all help, so i tried these methods and came up short, but also discovered some interesting things. My KDL-40XBR4 has minor flashlighting in both upper corners as it has since the day i opened the box. I wanted to try the "added airflow" solution so i got out my sears air , set the pressure to 20PSI and started blowing air to various spots on the tv. What I found is that if I hold the nozzle a few inches away from the front of the screen and direct the air towards the corners where the flashlights are... THE FLASHLIGHTS GET LARGER AND BRIGHTER. The air coming out of the hose is on the cool side... so as I'm cooling the screen the problem worsens! So i stopped and it took a few mintues for the screen's corner to warm up again and get back to my normal dim flashlights. So i tried the "Rubbing" technique... circular motions with a microfiber cloth. All I got was some localized distortion... the harder I pressed the more the screen would brighten in that spot. No difference to the flashlights, but I did realize that in the UPPER RIGHT corner of my screen as I pressed lightly, the actually screen would move in a little in the direction I was pushing... about a 1/32". So something is NOT sealed tightly.

My theory is that there are seals in the corners that are not very good and cool air from the front of the screen is getting pulled through the corner and causing the flashlights... I believe the temperature of the screen where the flashlights are occurring are COOL gradient areas... I'll get a infrared temp gun from work and check screen temperatures over the weekend.

I have a 55V5100. I bought my first one a little more than a month ago. Right away I noticed a flashlight in the upper right corner and two clouds in the lower middle portion of the screen. It would have been acceptable to me except that I noticed the clouds in dark areas of programs. I returned it for another hoping for better luck. When I turned on the second unit, it was perfect...I was like, "could I be this lucky?" Well, after an hour I noticed two flashlights each in both upper corners. The flashlights are minor, but at least I dont have any clouding. Setting the backlight to 3 and pumping up the brightness to 53 helped a little. I tried massaging and screwing around with the screws but with no luck. It really doesnt bother me enough to go through the hassle of boxing the big ass thing. I almost strained my back returning it the first time. Anyways, my little obsession to completely eliminate the flashlights has waned and figured I'd just start enjoying the damn thing. I love the picture. If this thing craps out after the warranty period, no more Sony lcds for me until they learn how to fix the clouding and flashlighting. I'm tempted to try the fan thing. Does anyone know how the external cooling fan attachments work for the PS3? Maybe two of those badboys can be strapped on the back to cool down the tv.

#3 maybe, but having the ambient light sensor ON in my opinion just makes for erratic brightness during different scenes while viewing movies in a dark room.

Actually that's not how the light sensor works on current model Sony's. It basically sets the backlight to a fixed value based on current room brightness. So unless you are flipping on and off your room lights... there will be NO brightness changes in the program you are watching.

(once you enable ambient light sensor - the Backlight setting in the display menu will no longer work)

Actually that's not how the light sensor works on current model Sony's. It basically sets the backlight to a fixed value based on current room brightness. So unless you are flipping on and off your room lights... there will be NO brightness changes in the program you are watching.

(once you enable ambient light sensor - the Backlight setting in the display menu will no longer work)

I was referring to when a movie scene is really dark and then flips to an extremely bright scene that lights up the whole room and then the ambient light sensor kicks in and dims the screen because it's getting all this reflected light off the walls (if the room is small enough.... maybe this is rare, but I've experience it.

Ah okay. I haven't experienced it, I think it's because the sensor on the W5100 doesn't respond to brightness changes right away (if I flip the light switch, it takes about 2-3 seconds for the backlight to change).
I watched Quantum of Solace blu-ray last night and didn't notice any such occurrences.

...My theory is that there are seals in the corners that are not very good and cool air from the front of the screen is getting pulled through the corner and causing the flashlights... I believe the temperature of the screen where the flashlights are occurring are COOL gradient areas... I'll get a infrared temp gun from work and check screen temperatures over the weekend.

Folks, I am reposting my post from the model-specific W5100 thread to this one, mainly because my question is about Sony Support's Warranty repair practices in Canada. Anyone who has experience with Sony Canada please let me know what I can expect! Thank you!

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So, watching the 24 premiere last night is the first time in my 3 wks ownership that the flashlighting actually got on my nerves. There were a bunch of scenes shot in a moderately-lit indoor environment (the UN offices, some parts of the CTU office) and due to the show using the full 16:9 aspect ratio, there's a ray of light hanging in both the top left and top right corner that looks very out of place. It's different from watching a 2.35:1 movie since you can eventually learn to "tune out" the flashlighting since it's in the black bars and not part of the movie frame.

So... I am thinking of calling Sony Support and trying to get it serviced under warranty. I'm in Canada (Toronto). Has anyone else in canada ever tried this before and have they reported any success? Since I have a 46" I would prefer if they send somebody to my house who can do the service here (?) rather than making me pack the whole thing up and arrange for transportation to their HQ.

I checked some temperatures and really couldn't find a gradient over the flashlight area. The screen itself is definitely warmer at the top... and for some reason the left side fan was measuring much warmer than the right side. maybe i'll take some more reading and post the numbers later...

That would explain why there's no flashlighting visible right when I turn on my TV, and the flashlight "peak" appears to hit after the TV is on for about 45 minutes, and remains that way until its turned off.

Non-uniform screen temperatures cause clouding and flashlights (i believe). I blew 20psi compressed "cool" air at the front of my screen after it was on for a while and clouds began to form where i directed the air... I'll try a hair-dryer next.

Over on the XBR9 thread I reported that sony tech support is sending me a thumbdrive with an alleged fix to the cloudiness in dark scenes problem, by modulating the backlight. I find it hard to believe this could be the real solution, but hope springs eternal. Anyone tried this fix?

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we CAN imagine. (J.B.S. Haldane, paraphrased)

Over on the XBR9 thread I reported that sony tech support is sending me a thumbdrive with an alleged fix to the cloudiness in dark scenes problem, by modulating the backlight. I find it hard to believe this could be the real solution, but hope springs eternal. Anyone tried this fix?

As the XBR9 backlight cannot do any local dimming correction, I assume the "fix" will be to darken full screen black as fast as possible. I have noticed that engaging the Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit works by decreasing the backlight (and therefore the cloudiness) and apparently simultaneously running the LCD pixels in a more open state to keep the signal as high above the noise floor as possible. Obviously this can only work up to a point in brightness if it is not dynamic. I can see the background noise level and cloudiness drop from a blank screen to black video when the circuit kicks in. Not clear if it is dynamic or a fixed setting. It reduces the cloudiness problem visibly, and is a definite improvement I would estimate by a factor of 4x. Conceptually it works similarly to Dolby NR, gain riding or a compander in the old analog tape days.

Ironically all the professional reviews I have seen defeat the ACE circuit for testing and therefore no discussion of its effects and no numbers on the contrast ratio improvement. It probably does not change the full black/full white ratio, but the apparent contrast is improved on screen.

I expect the "fix" will just do the same or possibly more aggressively. In otherwords the best that can can be hoped for is masking the problem rather than eliminating it, which is better than nothing.

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we CAN imagine. (J.B.S. Haldane, paraphrased)

Over on the XBR9 thread I reported that sony tech support is sending me a thumbdrive with an alleged fix to the cloudiness in dark scenes problem, by modulating the backlight. I find it hard to believe this could be the real solution, but hope springs eternal. Anyone tried this fix?

Well Sony's fix is nothing more than the update pkgaa0153pn which says nothing about cloudiness and doesn't seem to make any change that I can see. Either the two techs are seriously misinformed or one of the fixes just happens to set some of the picture settings to exactly what I had already found minimize, but not eliminate, cloudiness:

ACE on high
power on low
room light sensor on

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we CAN imagine. (J.B.S. Haldane, paraphrased)

Well Sony's fix is nothing more than the update pkgaa0153pn which says nothing about cloudiness and doesn't seem to make any change that I can see. Either the tech is seriously misinformed or one of the fixes just happens to set some of the picture settings to exactly what I had already found minimize, but not eliminate, cloudiness:

He means Depreciated value, which would be like $1,500 for a set from 2007.

That or he will try and give you set with Similar Specs from 2007 which in todays world would be pretty much any TV

I am on your side I want you to either get the full $3499 in store credit or he lets you pick out any new HDTV of the same size.

In both cases I think thats unlikely.

no thats not how most extended warranty's work

he will most likely get the exact value he paid originally, what sucks is your usually limited to buying something that store/brand carries but yeah when things go wrong with an older set and you have an extended warranty like that one can often get a better item than the original was simply due to the advances that have been made

If you're a gamer or interested in using an LCD TV as a primary monitor take a look at my thread on Input Lag

he will most likely get the exact value he paid originally, what sucks is your usually limited to buying something that store/brand carries but yeah when things go wrong with an older set and you have an extended warranty like that one can often get a better item than the original was simply due to the advances that have been made

I was thinking worst case scenario but you're correct frito. I remember back in 2003 I think my PC died, And for Some reason I had gotten the 3 Year Warranty.

So I was given at Best Buy the full $1600 I had spent.

And then for some reason it was 20 minutes till closing and the store manager gave me an extra $249 to pick out ant monitor for some reason because he wanted to leave.

the store that i purchased the tv from carries all the big names and has been around for 35 yrs, i strategically when to see the store manager and ask this question`` will i get the equivalent tv in terms of price`` he said yes all i need to do is call the service tech.

Honestly i am aiming for 60 incher from 52 to 60, and this warranty to me is like insurance, it cost me almost 300 brownies(Canadian).
the price i stated was not the final, that was before 15% tax.

I am thinking sony, they got some 60 inchers, now ccfl or led, to me led provides a slimmer form factor, other than that i don`t see why i should go led but their led sets do have an ethernet port which i really like

the tech service said they replaced the ub1 board, and said it `should fix the problem`. So i called the company that provides the warranty, the man said that they changed the ub1 board ,and another part which he was not able to get info of right now, because it was covered by the manufacturer, but next week, i will able to get a report detailing exactly what was done, once the file is closed.

will this fix my clouding and flashlights, we`ll see, what do you think

the tech service said they replaced the ub1 board, and said it `should fix the problem`. So i called the company that provides the warranty, the man said that they changed the ub1 board ,and another part which he was not able to get info of right now, because it was covered by the manufacturer, but next week, i will able to get a report detailing exactly what was done, once the file is closed.

will this fix my clouding and flashlights, we`ll see, what do you think

F*&%ing morons let me tell, the tech brought my tv back, this morning, they said that at their shop they did not see it the clouds and flash-lighting, it was restting on a table, so maybe becasue i have it on the wall that is why..(for a second i thought ..this guy must be high) but no he was serious, he said if it happens again, take pictures and send it to us,

to top it all off they forgot my power cable and gave me a temporary one( i should fry my tv and said the power cable was the wrong one) how do i know if i will be getting the original one back ? any way to tell.?

and forgot my remote,,,you f*&$`n believe this, now the the pit-bull has been let loose, incompetent people.

Just like most of you on here I wish I had seen this forum before I bought my two Sony XBR tv's. Yep that's right I'm stuck with two XBR's that are cloudy. Luckily I have the extended warranty on them but I would hate to get rid of them.

I have one 52 inch XBR3 and one 46 inch XBR2

The 52 inch has cloud issues and occasionally you see like a purple haze or almost a pulse of light when watching shows or movies.

I contacted the warranty company and they sent a tech out and said that both tv's would need to be replaced as they would cost to much to fix. They have the nerver to replace my Expensive Sony tv's with a $1000 Samsung LCD tv. WTF!!!!!
I have only read up to page 31 on this forum...has any legal action been taken on this?

I am also having problems with my Sony Bravia TV. The model is KDL32EX650, which is a very nice TV with a lot of functions and very low motion blur. I have problems with backlight bleeding effect from top corners of the TV. It really pisses me off sometimes because the rest of the TV is so good.
Here is how the bleeding itself looks on my TV (almost the same):http://forconsumers.blogspot.com/2013/01/sony-bravia-kdl-32ex650-led-lcd.html

Just thought I might add my experience into here, even though it has been a while since anything has been updated. I purchased a Sony KDL40XBR back in July 2008 and fortunately bought an extended warranty with it from JB HIFI (Australia). So far, I've had the LCD replaced 3 times and the issue is still occurring. Anyways, it's now come to a point where they have agreed to potentially replace the TV. I sent the TV back to the extended warranty repairers and they were told to provide a quote from the insurance company and not do the repairs. Now the repairers (SSS Electronics in Sydney) have come back and said there is no issue with the TV, even though it is the exact same fault - how convenient. I've attached a picture of the TV before it was sent off and I have tried amending all of the Sony recommended settings for this panel. The issue gets worse with time on this set for some reason. My partners parents and a good friend of mine have the same model TV as myself, except its build date is a year prior and they have no issues at all. Has anyone else in AUS with JBHIFI warranty had this panel replaced due to this problem?